The Heart of America
by snareplayingpiccolo
Summary: Thrown into the world of Hetalia that she's only seen and read in anime and manga, Juniper starts a whole new life as the state of Montana. She learns to accept her new life all the while she meets the countries of the world, makes new friends and falls in love with a certain country by the name of America!


_**A/N: I do not own the characters, storyline, universe, etc. of Hetalia: Axis Powers. I only own my main character and my own storyline. Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading!**_

**Chapter One**

The sun shone brightly down on the small town of Missoula, scorching everything in sight. No wind blew through the valley, making it seem hotter than 79 degrees. The dry humidity did not help alleviate the searing burn of the trapped heat. Almost everyone thought it best to stay in some sort of air-conditioned building. Those who did venture outside for long periods of time brought enough water to fill a small lake simply to stay hydrated. Even then, those few adventurers were few and far between.

Near Southgate mall, on a near empty street, a teen roughly eighteen years of age walked silently, with a purpose, to the mall after visiting nearby Hastings. Juniper Rowena Washington, a soon to be college teen from Missoula, listened intently to her music on her black iPhone. The music blasted from her black headphones while she approach the street, making her oblivious to the world.

A light sheen of sweat coated her tanned forehead. Her silky straight blonde hair, tied in a ponytail, on the other hand was soaked with the stinky liquid. Her slanted blue eyes hid behind a pair of black sunglasses that rested snuggly on her upturned nose. Her dark blue tank top hugged her slim waist showing off the tops of her average sized breasts while jean capris left no doubt that she was well toned and lean. The way she walked, and skirted around potholes spoke of the lithe agility that came with the trained body.

Unbeknownst to her, back down the street she just walked, a green Volvo sped faster and faster towards Juniper unable to stop. The driver, a man who looks to be in his forties, wearing a cowboy outfit suddenly had felt a fierce pain in his chest. Clutching his chest with one hand while his other hand held onto the steering wheel with a death like grip, his foot unconsciously pushed down harder on the accelerator. He struggled to stay conscience but soon darkness took his vision and before he could swerve to miss the girl he was dead.

The car behind the green Volvo did it's best to keep up. Alfred F. Jones, also known as America, enjoyed the race. John Wesley knew how to entertain him when Alfred came into town. Alfred didn't realize that something was wrong with his beloved state of Montana until it hit. A sharp pain in his chest that seized his body up for a few moments before a pain throbbed dully through out his body. What Alfred looked up, he wasn't prepared for what he saw.

Juniper looked over her shoulder sensing something was wrong. Too late she realized that the car was speeding straight towards her with no intention of stopping. In a desperate attempt to live, Juniper tried to jump out of the way. The car slammed hard into Juniper's hip causing her to flip up onto the hood. A loud crunch sounded as her entire body smashed into the hood, leaving a human sized dent. Her body continued to travel up and over the roof of the car, while the car continued forward smashing into a lamp pole.

The ugly sounding crunch of body and bone on the hard asphalt road resonated in Juniper's ears, the vibrations heard elsewhere. Pain shot through her body, a raging wild fire scorching through her every fiber. Her vision blurred from the pain. Her mind clouded like a cloudy day with heavy fog. Juniper faintly heard the squeal of another set of tires as another car slammed on the breaks, coming to a stop nearby.

Alfred rushed to Juniper's side, not even bothering to check up on John. Alfred just knew in his heart that John was dead. No his main priority was the girl who he hoped was still alive. Whipping out his cell phone, Alfred dialed 911. Dropping by the girl, Alfred noticed that although her limbs were bent at odd angles, and blood continued to pool underneath her, the girl was still conscience.

"Please, stay with me! Please, stay with me! Don't die! Please!" Alfred whispered stoking the girls' hair unsure exactly what he should be doing right now. Sure he had seen his fair share of injuries in past wars, and bandaged himself up way to many times but this was different. How he would determine that later, but for now all he could was comfort the girl while he waited for someone to answer.

"_911, what's your emergency?"_ a feminine voice sounded through his cell.

"Hurry! Please send an ambulance! We're near Hastings on a side road. A car has just hit a young female! Please send an ambulance quick! Please!" Alfred shouted frantically at the operator. 'Stop the bleeding.' The though finally made its way through Alfred's mind. Throwing the phone on speaker, Alfred ripped off his button up shirt and pressed it to the girls' abdomen. Juniper gasped and began sobbing but she was still conscience.

"_We are sending an ambulance to you now. Remain calm, sir. Stay with me,"_ replied the operator.

"Well you better move fast!" Alfred yelled then turned to the girl. "Don't worry they'll be here soon, and you'll be fine no worries about turning into a zombie or anything…" Alfred paused his eyes going wide. Turning back to his phone Alfred yelled, "WHAT IF SHE TURNS INTO A ZOMBIE! I don't have my vaccination, and I really like my brain where it is. HURRRY UP AND GET HERE!"

The line was silent for a long moment before the operator replied, "Sir please calm down. There is no such things as zombies, no viruses that can turn people into zombies, it just doesn't happen."

"Well then what about her ghost?! If she dies I don't think I can handle dealing with her ghost." Alfred's body shook and depression waves began to emit from him as tears ran down his face.

"Sir…" The operated started then sighed. "The ambulance should be arriving any minute now."

While the exchange continued, Juniper's vision continued to blur. A face had swum into her blurry vision shortly after she had hit the pavement. A blond haired, blue-eyed man with glasses. If her eyes weren't completely shot from that hit, he might look really cute. No her eyes were playing tricks because if she was honest he had reminded her of a character from Hetalia. Juniper let out a breathy laugh wincing as pain seared through her body. What a dying wish, to be saved by Alfred F. Jones. Since she was dying Juniper let her mind continue to play tricks on her, listening to him argue with the operator really made him sound like that stupid American. Squinting her eyes, Juniper tried to get one last look at her savior, tried to focus her ears to memorize his voice, tried to feel the emotions coming from his trembling hands on her belly. She tried as hard as she could to ignore the pain that had engulfed her entire body. Tried to ignore that hateful feeling, of being useless…of dying.

Minutes passed by before the ambulance could be heard screaming down Higgins. By the time the turned onto the street, Juniper's mind had begun its slow descent into unconsciousness. Yet Juniper had held on, using the blond haired childish man as her anchor into this world. While the EMTs unloaded the gurney and their equipment, Alfred had reached the stage of complete and utter panic, but at least in that stage he had stopped yelling about Zombies and Ghosts and only seemed worried about Juniper making. Juniper wished he would calm down; she didn't like the way he gritted his teeth trying to brave. One EMT ran to Alfred with a bag while the other pushed the gurney.

"Excuse us, sir, but I am a trained EMT. I need you to step back and let me look at the girl," the EMT with the bag said as he gently pushed Alfred out of the way. Quickly from years of practice the EMTs began hooking monitors and IVs to the girls body. Alfred tried not to wince as the EMTs began setting the girls bones enough so they could transport her. For the first time in his life, Alfred F. Jones didn't know how to be a Hero, except to stand near the girl and give her strength.

'Alfred's', as she had come to start calling the man, face, was moved out of Juniper's field of vision and replaced by blobs that she assumed were faces. Junipers vision began to swim and she felt like she was falling backwards down a rabbit hole. She no longer fought to stay awake now that she had lost the one person that had become her physical rock. She could still feel his soul pulsing nearby, but it wasn't enough to keep her scared she somehow grabbed his hand and for a moment Juniper felt like it was going to be all right. As the gurney began to move back to the ambulance, Juniper's hands slipped from 'Alfred's'. As her hand fell back to the gurney, Juniper fell deeper and deeper into the ever-growing darkness.

"She's crashing! We need to get her to the hospital now!" One of the EMTs stated as they put the gurney in the back of the ambulance.

"I'm come along!" Alfred stated from the back of the ambulance. His hand was still warm from where Juniper had grabbed it. In that moment Alfred had viewed her life, it was one of the downfalls of being a country, and Alfred F. Jones was going to be a hero.

"I'm sorry, sir, but you cannot come with us," an EMT stated closing one of the doors.

"She needs me, she's got no one left to support her, I can't leave her, when I'm the only one she's got left." Alfred stated softly, his face hard in determination but his lips trembled remembering the pain the girl had felt.

Unable to withstand the look and making many assumptions to clear his conscience, the EMT jerk his head to the inside of the ambulance with a sigh "Alright, hop on. We will take you with us."

"Thanks," Alfred whispered as he hopped into the back of the ambulance closing the door behind him.

Maneuvering around the EMT, Alfred took a seat next to Juniper. He watched her pale, deathlike face intently, hoping that she will make it. Slowly he reach out letting his warm hand grasps her cold one tightly. In his heart, he felt the pain, the chaos, and the sense of being helpless that he always felt when one of his states got seriously injured. His entire body felt weak, weaker than normal. His body shook slightly with the pain. He hated this feeling. He hated it when his states got like this, but it hurt even more so with this young girl who had just become his little state of Montana. He could feel that this girl is different, special in a way. He had to take care of her.

This girl, his Montana, looked so peaceful when she's unconscious, even with all the blood and scratches covering her tanned face, she looked relaxed. Her hair once soaked with just sweat now contained streaks of drying blood as well. Eyes traveling down her body, Alfred took note of her lithe, muscular form that had a hint of femininity in her appropriately proportioned breasts, the slight curve of her hips and the angle of her face.

Alfred felt an immediate attraction to her. A slight flutter of his heart, barely felt underneath the fear that his beating heart had suffered through. His cheeks flushed a light pink color. A gentle, loving look crossed his eyes. Dreamlike images of her floated around in his head. Alfred hoped maybe someday she might feel the same way about him.

While Alfred continued his daydreaming of Juniper, the ambulance traveled to St. Patrick's Hospital, because Community Medical Center did not have the ER equipped to handle the girl's injuries. They traveled as fast as they could to St. Pats where the emergency doctors awaited anxiously for their arrival. The ambulance had barely stopped when the hospital staff began pulling the gurney out of the ambulance. Rushing Juniper into an operation room, Alfred was left to get off and looked around in a daze, trying to find the waiting room, completely lost in thought. A nurse noticed his confusion, and silently took him to the waiting room. Where he could do nothing but think about Juniper Rowena Washington.

He had been pacing back and forth for hours in the waiting room, anxious, fretting. His mind couldn't think of anything else but her, and how he couldn't loose her. Some how she had become very special to him, so special it would literally hurt him if she should die. His body ached a dull pain compared to the pain he felt earlier. Yet he couldn't judge her condition off of the pain, pain could be numbed with medication…. or death. His heart beat faster in fear while his soul rocked in turmoil. His feelings, dipped and rolled like a roller coaster track, tossing and turning him like the carts hurtling along at break neck speeds. He hated this feeling.

Then out of the blue, the chaotic mess calmed down within his soul, like a calm day at sea after a storm had pass through. Everything became so peaceful, so quiet, and so serene. A soft breeze blew around his soul. Gentle waves lapped quietly seemingly nearby. Sand beneath him felt comforting. Calmness overcame him telling him that in one way or another she was no longer in pain. Alfred paused and looked at the Emergency Room doors, was she alive or was she dead?

The door to the Emergency Room swung open revealing a female doctor. She was short, only coming up to mid chest on Alfred. Her light brown hair, tied in a loose bun, looked out of sorts, frazzled even. Dark circles puffed out underneath her dark brown almond shaped eyes, showing signs of tiredness. Her full lips puckered slightly. Her face had a somewhat round shape to it. If they had met before this day she would have classified as Alfred's type, but now his heart ached only for his little state.

"Are you the man who came in with the young blonde haired girl picked up near Hastings?" asked the doctor as she walked in.

"Yes, ma'am, I am. Is she all right? Did she make it? Are you going to take me to her? I must see her," stated Alfred, anxiously hoping that his little state pulled through.

"I am Dr. Watkins, the attending doctor. I assure you that she is fine, but that doesn't mean that she's out of the woods just yet. I will take you to her now. Follow me, please," she replied as she turned and began heading into the hospital.

"Thank you very much," he whispered anxiously following Dr. Watkins

She took Alfred through a maze of halls up to the recovery floor. They walked in silence; Alfred was lost in his own thoughts, thinking about his state, not really paying attention to where he is being led. Dr. Watkins leaving him to his thoughts. The doctor suddenly stopped in front of a room causing Alfred to bump into her. Muttering an apology Alfred looked hopefully at Dr. Watkins.

"This is her room," she said quietly.

Alfred took note of the room number with Juniper's name printed on paper stuck beneath the room number. He stepped forward, grabbing ahold of the handle and turned it. Poking his head through a crack when it was wide enough. His eyes automatically locked onto Juniper's sleeping form lying on a white bed. He pushed the door opened the rest of the way and rushed to her side gently grabbed her hand.

She looked so peaceful. Her face had been cleaned of dried blood, faint scratches lined her face. He doubted those would leave scars on her face. The dried blood that had once soaked her tied up blonde hair now had been washed and the locks of sunshine were released from their bondage. Her clothes had been replaced by hospital clothing. Underneath her clothing, he could see that her abdomen had been bandaged up as well as her arms had also been bandaged up. Underneath the blankets that covered her legs, he saw that her legs seemed larger than they normally were, most likely because her legs were in casts. At least now, she didn't have the deathly look to her.

"Excuse me, sir," stated Dr. Watkins, bringing Alfred out of his thoughts "But I need to talk to you about her family and medical history."

"Of course," he said quietly, still grasping Juniper's hand "What Do you need to know?"

From his brief glimpse earlier Alfred could tell the Doctor anything she needed to know about Juniper. From the loss of most of her friends, to the destruction of her family by divorce followed by followed by the homicide suicide that left her utterly completely alone. He could tell Dr. Watkins about Juniper's hard life of living alone, and having to support herself while extended family fought over her parent's money. The feelings of uselessness, of pain, of a coldness that had wrapped itself around certain parts of her memories.

"What is her name? How old is she? Are her parents still alive? Does she have any other family left? Has she suffered any injuries before the accident? The usual basic medical history." she looked down at her papers listing off the general questions, her hand moved into position a pen ready to write. Looking up she waited for Alfred to start.

"Her name is Juniper Rowena Washington. She's eighteen years of age. Her parents and siblings died in a homicide suicide while her extended family wanted her parent's money thus leading them to hate her. She has not suffered any other form of injury before the accident," he replied casually. Looking up finally he asked, "Do you have any other questions for me?"

"No, that's all I need. I will finish this paperwork somewhere else and let you be alone with her," she replied, gathering the paperwork in a manila flip folder getting ready to leave.

"Thank you," he said with a slight nod before returning his attention back on Juniper. Dr. Watkins face softened and she looked fondly at the two of them. 'He cares for her,' she thought to herself while she quietly walked away. She will leave them alone until she was required to come back in.

Alfred attempted to get confortable within his chair while not letting go of Juniper's hand. He knew that it would be a long wait before she would wake up. Leaning back, he watched her sleeping face for a few hours before falling asleep himself.


End file.
